Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Mavericks close to acquiring Shawn Marion in three-team trade

The much rumored Shawn Marion trade that would send him to the Dallas Mavericks seems to be nearing completion. ESPN is reporting that the trade could be reported to the league office on Thursday.

The new deal has Shawn Marion going to the Mavericks in a sign-and-trade and receiving a five year deal worth around $50 million. Jerry Stackhouse would go from Dallas to the Memphis Grizzlies - the newest team in this deal - and then be bought out.

Stackhouse was going to be bought out after being traded as part of the Jason Kidd deal in February of 2008 and then re-sign with the Mavs, but couldn't keep his mouth shut about it and ended up being yanked from the trade. This time, Stackhouse would likely be bought out and find another team to play with other than Dallas.

The Raptors want to move Marion mostly to accommodate the incoming Hedo Turkoglu and the cap space his contract will eat up. It will certainly make the Mavericks more athletic while, on the other hand, adding another 30+ year old to their core of stars.